It was August of 2013 that Donald Trump invited Dreamers to Trump’s offices overlooking Central Park. These were young people who were brought to the United States illegally. They were the children of illegal immigrants who came to America, desperate to give their children a better life. “You’ve convinced me,” the billionaire assured his guests. They beamed, believing they had broken through to him, as he escorted them to the lobby to pick souvenirs. Donald Trump lied. He represented to these young people that he was convinced of the importance of these Dreamers contribution to the American way of life.

President Donald Trump has decided to end the Obama-era program that grants work permits to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as children.

In a nod to reservations held by many lawmakers, the White House plans to delay the enforcement of the president’s decision for six months, giving Congress a window to act, according to one White House official. But a senior White House aide said that chief of staff John Kelly, who has been running the West Wing policy process on the issue, “thinks Congress should’ve gotten its act together a lot longer ago.”

Trump is expected to formally make an announcement tomorrow. The president’s expected decision is likely to make the racists who elected him quite happy. However it is just one more example of the destructive force that Donald Trump has inflicted on America. Leaders in both parties have opposed his move to abolish DACA, including Orin Hatch and Paul Ryan. “Dreamers” are approximately 800,000 undocumented immigrants who were the children of illegal immigrants who have lived in America since childhood, they have been educated in America, they have had health care provided here, and some of whom have served in the military.

The most amazing thing is that America has allowed Dreamers to risk their lives serving in the military. Members of Congress from both parties have gone on record to support allowing Dreamers to serve in the military. Recognizing their “diverse skill sets and backgrounds,” Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.) approved the idea of allowing undocumented immigrants to serve in the military and put themselves on a path to citizenship, calling it a “fine program.” Indeed, military experts have testified that a qualified, diverse military force educated and trained to command the United States’ diverse enlisted ranks isvital to the military’s ability to fulfill its principal mission to provide national security. However now Sessions is supporting Trump’s decision to dissolve DACA. Sessions said:

“We can’t promise people who are here unlawfully that they’re not going to be deported.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), who has called on Trump to stand up for the Dreamers, tweeted out her displeasure with Trump’s expected announcement.

“After teasing #Dreamers for months with talk of his ‘great heart,’ @POTUS slams door on them. Some ‘heart’…” she wrote.

Paul Ryan said: “These are kids that know no other country, who were brought here by their parents and don’t know another home, and so I really do believe there needs to be a legislative solution, that’s one that we’re working on.”

To be eligible for Dreamer status a person must have arrived in the US before age 16 and lived there since June 15, 2007. They cannot have been older than 30 when the Department of Homeland Security enacted the policy in 2012. As of March 31, 2017, 787,580 people have been approved for the program since it began, according to government figures.

Mexico is by far the biggest country of origin, followed by El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Under the DACA program, Dreamers can apply to defer deportation and legally reside in the US for two years. After that people can apply for renewal. By March 31, 240,700 people had applied for renewal in the 2017 fiscal year and nearly 800,000 renewals have been approved over the life of the program.

If a person who otherwise qualifies to be covered by DACA if found to be a threat to the public or national safety, their status is cancelled and they may be deported. Thus far, out of the 800,000 Dreamers, only 1500 have had their deferral canceled due to a crime or gang-related activity or admission. That means that only .002% of Dreamers have committed a crime. That’s an amazing low number since the average for felonies among all Americans is almost 10%.

Consider a typical story of a Dreamer. Aurora Fabian has a sign tacked to the wall over her bunk bed. “Happy People Shine Brighter!” From fifth grade onward, Ms. Fabian was out until almost midnight helping her single mother mop, sweep and clean the counters of a bakery before moving on to scrub the tile floors of a nearby Italian restaurant. Through it all, she managed to play high school soccer, run cross-country, work summers and weekends on the Santa Cruz boardwalk. Determined to “change our family history,” as she puts it, Ms. Fabian won two local scholarships and a coveted spot at the University of California.

Juan Robles saved his money for college by picking plums alongside his mother, who raised three children by rising at 4:30 a.m. six days a week to work in the fields. A champion debater, Mr. Robles is easy to spot in his jacket, tie and matching silk pocket handkerchief, a sartorial foreshadowing of his career goal to be a legislator crafting “small policies that can make a big difference in someone’s life.” It’s a difference he knows first hand.

However even if you remain unconvinced that these Dreamers should be allowed to remain in America for altruistic reasons consider the economic impact of deporting these hard working immigrants. The United States could lose up to 700,000 jobs and suffer billions of dollars in lost economic output if Trump ends a program granting work permits to the children of undocumented immigrants, a new report finds.

A report issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services examines the potential economic consequences of cancelling the Obama-era DACA. An average of 30,000 workers could lose their jobs every month if DACA were repealed or permit renewals were held up, the report found. It also estimated that the loss of those workers could cost the country $460.3 billion in economic output over the next decade, with Medicare and Social Security contributions dropping by $24.6 billion.

Perhaps we are powerless to control Donald Trump. It seems inevitable that Trump will announce reversal of the administration’s DACA policy. However Congress can pass its own law that would codify the DACA rules, and make them law which Trump could not override.

What can you do to help make the Dream become a reality? Don’t wait! Send a message to your Congressional representatives today!

I think the comfort in all of this horrible news is – he is not going to get away with it. This program has support from Dems and Repubs. If Trump is seriously stupid enough to push this – I think it will come back to blast him in the face.

A few years ago – before I retired – I worked at a company where my sub-supervisor was an illegal. The company knew it and covered up for him. He was using a social security # and name of a relative – which alarmed me as all of his wages were being credited to the SS of his cousin. He was an amazing young man. His people skills were fantastic, his mechanical and electrical knowledge were amazing. He basically ran the shift for me. Such a good person and a blessing in any work environment.

On two occasions I took him to an immigration attorney who I hoped could help. This was an attorney who was devoting his life to helping those in need. The best we could do was get him on a waiting list with hope for the future.

I was working in the food processing industry and encountered many illegals. ALL of them were incredible people and I so admired their work ethics. Many came here with false hopes of somehow becoming legal – but they truly did not know the barriers they would have. They were just people looking for jobs to support their families.

Pat,
It makes me so very sad that there are hard working people like this who are part of what makes America great, and their future in the country is in jeopardy! How many people do we have that are citizens and are lazy, uneducated, on government assistance without needing it, or just grifters! Immigrants …as a group… regardless of their heritage…have come to America seeking to give their kids a better life. They work hard and give all they have. Yet Trump wants to deport them. We are losing what makes America great!

Grandson of a Bavarian draft dodger, illegal immigrant, non English speaking pimp. Draft dodging, whore monger Trump opens his campaign promising to keep out foreign born people like his grandfather. He lives in a vacuum, clueless of his ancestry. What gives him the right to pass judgement?

(disclaimer: I am the grandson of an Austrian draft dodger who came here and joined the Marines.)